Panthers dress account executive as backup after Roberto Luongo hurt in warmups
The Florida Panthers have dressed an account executive Bobby Segin as their backup goalie after Roberto Luongo was hurt in warmups before hosting the Nashville Predators on Friday night.
The injuries are piling up for the Panthers as Nick Bjugstad was also injured early in the game. Luongo was supposed to start but an upper-body injury in warmups led to James Reimer getting the nod vs. the Predators.
Segin was a backup for UConn during the 2011-12 to 2013-14 seasons but didn’t see any action, though he has previously practiced with the Panthers.
Segin works in the ticketing department and is has generated more than “$500,000 in new business ticket revenue in the first year’s sales campaign” and is also responsible for creating Florida Panthers Star Wars Night, according to his LinkedIn page.
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He's not the first to get the emergency backup call this season, as Carolina equipment manager Jorge Alves made his NHL debut with the Hurricanes on New Year's Eve, while the Chicago Blackhawks signed Eric Semborksi, a coach in the Flyers' practice facility, to a one-day contract after Corey Crawford underwent an emergency appendectomy on Dec. 3.
The Panthers are no strangers to the goalie contingency plan, either, having signed goalie coach and former NHLer Robb Tallas on March 3, 2015 against the Toronto Maples after Luongo left with an upper-body injury. Things got dicey in that matchup, after backup Al Montoya sustained a lower-body injury in the third period, though Luongo returned to finish out the game, a 3-2 loss.
For his part, Reimer was particularly focused, stopping 26 of 27 shots as Florida edged its way to a 2-1 win. He was so zoned in, in fact, he was unaware of his surprise backup for the night.
“I didn’t know that!” he said after the win. “I’m sure it was probably fun for him.”
All signs point to "yes," as Segin got the full pro treatment, even getting his own post game scrum.
According to coach Tom Rowe, Luongo is officially day-to-day.